an investigation into english high school teachers beliefs and practices about teaching vocabulary learning strategies in can duoc district

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN PHUONG THAO

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS'
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT TEACHING VOCABULARY
LEARNING STRATEGIES IN CAN DUOC DISTRICT

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN PHUONG THAO

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS'
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT TEACHING VOCABULARY
LEARNING STRATEGIES IN CAN DUOC DISTRICT
Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
Code: 60 14 01 11

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL
Supervisor: Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD.)

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I certify that this thesis which entitled “An Investigation into English High
School Teachers' Beliefs and Practices about Teaching Vocabulary Learning
Strategies in Can Duoc District” is my work.
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this paper does not
contain material published elsewhere or extracted on whole or in part from a thesis
by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without acknowledgement in the main
text of the thesis.
The thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary
institution.

Ho Chi Minh, September 2019

NGUYEN PHUONG THAO


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would never have been able to finish this thesis if I had not been helped and
supported by so many people. I would love to express my greatest gratitude to them
here.
Firstly, my greatest appreciation goes to my beloved family for their greatest
encouragement, as well as for their financial and spiritual support. They have always
been willing to listen to my concerns about all the hardships that I came across during
my studying. They always raise me up whenever I fall. I would never have achieved
such a worthy reward without them.

Secondly, I am so proud to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Nguyen
Thuy Nga who has guided me through the procedures of conducting my research. Not
only did she give helpful guidance towards my accomplishments, but she also paved
me the way for the solutions to all the problems that I have encountered.
My sincere gratitude is also extended to the proposal committee members.
They kindly shed light on how to make improvements on my research by giving me
valuable comments and feedback on my thesis proposal.
I am thankful to all lecturers at English Department, Open University for
fulfilling and broadening my knowledge during the time I studied there.
I’m also grateful to all my classmates in class TESOL 10 at Open University
who spent 2 years with me helping and supporting me to get through the Master
course.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all of my colleagues, principal, viceprincipals at Can Duoc high school for adjusting the timetable, which provided so
much convenience for me to pursuit my studying.


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ABSTRACT
This research discovered favorite vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) among
EFL high school teachers in Can Duoc district in terms of their beliefs and teaching
practices and investigated the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their
instructional practices. The participants included 35 in-service teachers teaching at 5
high schools in Can Duoc district. By using a questionnaire including closed-ended
and open-ended questions, the researcher applied both quantitative and qualitative
methods to carry out the research. In terms of teachers’ beliefs in the usefulness of
VLS, the results showed that the teachers were highly aware of numerous strategies
as illustrated in their high favorite level. In their teaching practices, the respondents
frequently applied most of strategies that they considered useful in teaching process.
Nonetheless, some small gaps between awareness and practices of the respondents

were till displayed. In summary, although there still existed some slight negative
correlations due to some contextual influence, the findings revealed that there was a
remarkable positive correlation between teachers’ practices and beliefs. The findings
also implied that: (1) universities should have more courses on teaching VLS for preservice and in-service teachers; (2) teachers should take part in more courses to
improve their teaching; (3) learners should be more aware of the importance of
vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies; (4) school administrators should
engage more in educational activities to figure out the problems of teaching and
learning vocabulary as well as vocabulary learning strategies to find out the effective
solutions for these problems. In addition, further researches on the same issue should
include more instruments of collecting data such as interview and observation to
ensure what the respondents reported in the questionnaire and interview corresponded
with what they practised in classroom.


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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. ix
ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................................x
CHAPTER 1 ..............................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1
1.1 Background and Rationale of the study ........................................................1
1.2 Statement of the problem................................................................................3
1.3 Objectives of the study ....................................................................................4
1.4 Research questions ..........................................................................................5
1.5 Significance of the study .................................................................................5
1.6 Scope of the study ............................................................................................6

1.7 Thesis organization ..........................................................................................6
CHAPTER 2 ..............................................................................................................8
LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................8
2.1 Definitions of Language Learning Strategies (LLS) ....................................8
2.2. Vocabulary in second language acquisition ...............................................10
2.2.1 The significance of Vocabulary Learning ............................................10
2.2.2 Knowing a Vocabulary Item ..................................................................11
2.2.3 Existing vocabulary teaching strategies ...............................................13
2.3 Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) ........................................................14
2.3.1 Some definitions of vocabulary learning strategies .............................14
2.3.2 Classification of VLS ............................................................................15
2.3.3 VLS training ............................................................................................23
2.4 Teachers’ beliefs and classroom practices .................................................25
2.4.1 Definition of teachers’ beliefs ................................................................25
2.4.2 Definition of classroom practices ..........................................................26


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2.4.3 The interrelationship between Teachers’ Beliefs and Classroom
Practices ............................................................................................................26
2.5 Previous studies on teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical practices on VLS
....................................................................................................................29
2.5.1 The consistency between teachers’ beliefs and classroom practices ..29
2.5.2 The inconsistency between teachers’ beliefs and practices .................32
2.5.3 The summary for the studies included in the literature review .........33
2.6 Research gap ..................................................................................................35
2.7 Conceptual framework of the study ............................................................35
2.8 Summary of the chapter ...............................................................................36
CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................37

METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................37
3.1 Research setting .............................................................................................37
3.2 Participants ....................................................................................................37
3.3 Research instrument .....................................................................................37
3.3.1 Questionnaire as a Tool for Collecting Data ........................................37
3.3.2 The rationale for designing the Questionnaire ....................................39
3.4 Research procedures .....................................................................................42
3.4.1 Translating the questionnaire into Vietnamese ...................................43
3.4.2 Piloting the questionnaire ......................................................................43
3.4.3 Administering the questionnaire ...........................................................44
3.5 Data analysis ..................................................................................................45
3.6 Validity and Reliability .................................................................................46
3.6.1 Validity .....................................................................................................46
3.6.2 Reliability .................................................................................................46
3.7 Chapter summary ..........................................................................................47
CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................48
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................48
4.1 Participants’ background .........................................................................48


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4.2 The answer to research question 1 ...............................................................49
4.2.1 Self-Reported VLS based on teachers’ beliefs .....................................49
4.2.2 Descriptive statistics on vocabulary learning strategies based on
Teachers’ Beliefs ..............................................................................................51
4.2.3 Conclusion ...............................................................................................57
4.3 The answer to research question 2 ...............................................................57
4.4 The answer to research question 3 ...............................................................63
4.4.1 Correlation interpretation from quantitative survey on Teachers’

Beliefs and Instructional Practices .................................................................63
4.4.2 Self-Reported VLS based on teachers’ practices .................................67
4.4.3 Conclusion ...............................................................................................67
4.5 Discussion .......................................................................................................68
4.5.1 Teachers’ beliefs in VLS based on personal experience .....................68
4.5.2 Teachers’ practices on VLS in their pedagogical practices ................70
4.5.3 The relationship between Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices of VLS ....71
4.6 Summary of Chapter 4 ..................................................................................72
CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................73
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................73
5.1 Conclusion of the study................................................................................73
5.2 Implications of the study ...............................................................................74
5.2.1 For universities and colleges ................................................................74
5.2.2 For language teachers.............................................................................75
5.2.3 For school administrators and educationalists ....................................75
5.3 Recommendations for future research ........................................................76
5.4 Summary of chapter 5 .................................................................................76
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................77
APPENDIX ..............................................................................................................88
APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................................88
APPENDIX 2 .......................................................................................................91


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APPENDIX 3 .....................................................................................................100
APPENDIX 4 .........................................................................................................109
APPENDIX 5 .........................................................................................................120
APPENDIX 6 .........................................................................................................126

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Elements and processes in language teacher cognition
(Borg, 2006)………………………………………………………………….…28
Figure 2.2. Conceptual Framework ………………………………………..…...36


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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 An illustration of vocabulary learning strategies proposed by Schmitt
(1997) .…………………………………………………………..……………...….17
Table 2.2 Summary of previous studies ……………………………………………33
Table 3.1 The summary of questionnaire………………………………………...…41
Table 3.2 Five-point Likert scales of teachers’ beliefs and practices…………...…..42
Table 3.3 Categories of mean scores based on preference level……………….……45
Table 3.4 Reliability coefficients of the first scale of the questionnaire…………...46
Table 3.5 Reliability coefficients of the second scale of the questionnaire…………47
Table 4.1 Background information of participants: years of teaching ……………49
Table 4.2 Self report of participants on vocabulary learning strategies……..………50
Table 4.3 Participants’ self report based on classifications of strategies……..……..51
Table 4.4 An overview of vocabulary learning strategies in terms of teachers’
beliefs………………………………………………………………………………52
Table 4.5 Teachers’ preferable vocabulary learning strategies in terms of beliefs
arranged from the most useful to the least useful strategies………………..……… 54
Table 4.6 Preferable strategies of teachers’ beliefs in VLS based on classifications of
strategies……………………………………………………………………..……. 56
Table 4.7 An overview of vocabulary learning strategies in terms of teachers’

practices……………………………………………………………..…………….. 58
Table 4.8 Teachers’ preferable vocabulary learning strategies in terms of practices
arranged from the most to the least frequently used strategies………...…………... 60
Table 4.9 Preferable strategies of teachers’ instructional practices on VLS based on
classifications of strategies…………………………………………..……………. 62
Table 4.10 An overview of preferable strategies of teachers’ beliefs and
practices………………………………………………………………...………… 64
Table 4.11 Pearson's Correlation Coefficient between teachers’ beliefs and
instructional practices of VLS…………………………………………………….. 65


x

ABBREVIATIONS
EFL – refers to English as a Foreign Language which is the target language of
teachers and learners in this research
L1 – refers to First Language or learners and teachers’ mother tongue language,
which is Vietnamese Language in this study.
L2 – refers to Second Language which is English Language as a target language for
Vietnamese EFL learners and teachers.
LLS – refers to Language learning strategies employed by EFL learners and teachers
for English language acquisition.
SLA – refers to Second language acquisition which means the acquisition of the
English language in the current study.
TESOL – refers to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
VLS – refers to Vocabulary learning strategies employed by EFL learners and
teachers for vocabulary acquisition in English language.


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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 describes the research’s background along with the statement of the
problem which basically builds up the foundation for the researcher’s conceptual
framework of the present research. Other crucial elements namely, the study’s
objectives, the research questions, the study’s significance, scope of the study,
definitions of terms together with the overview of the study are also provided.
1.1 Background and Rationale of the study
Language is man’s most important present because language brings progress,
civilization and conveys culture. Above all the languages, English emerges as the
global language because it constructs a bridge across the obstacles made by the
existence of so many other languages and therefore globalizes the world
(Pandarangga, 2015). Regardless of its importance in the educational system of Viet
Nam, in the era of renovation and with the policy of opening door to the whole world
of Viet Nam, the English language comes out indispensably in all attributes of the
development of our nation and “becomes the first (and nearly the only) foreign
language that is being taught and learnt in Vietnam” (Hoang, 2018) ; hence, teaching
and learning English have been getting a special attention from our government
through the decision N˚1400 (2008), which indicates that the Vietnamese Ministry of
Education has discussed and approved of the 10-year National Plan for “Teaching
and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Formal Educational System in the
Period of 2008-2020”.
When English becomes the most frequently used foreign language, vocabulary
learning emerges to be the first basic step beyond all doubts since it is one of the key
elements in second language acquisition (SLA) and essential for all stages of English
education (Gardner, 2013; Thornbury, 2002). According to Schmitt (2010), all
stakeholders dealing with English language learning (i.e. students, teachers,
researchers, etc.) have come to the same conclusion that vocabulary knowledge has
a substantial contribution to SLA with plenty of evidence showing its strong

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relationship with all the language skills because no matter how successfully the
students can master the grammatical structures, no matter how effectively the sounds,
pronunciation, and intonation of L2 are learnt, communication in L2 cannot be carried
out in any successful way if there is a lack of vocabulary to convey a wide variety of
meanings (Mashhadi & Jamalifar, 2015). Therefore, Alqahtani (2015) has concluded
that vocabulary is an extremely crucial tool and plays a great role in acquiring another
language or language communicative competence.
In terms of vocabulary acquisition, many scholars have long been supporting
vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) to facilitate the process of vocabulary learning
and help with enhancing learners’ vocabulary knowledge (Carranza et al., 2015;
Nation, 2001; Schmitt, 2000). For the use of VLS, Schmitt (2000) has noted that
proficient learners make use of numerous strategies, organize their own learning and
they are aware of the connection between newly and formerly learnt vocabulary
items; moreover, they find strategies useful for their learning, which indicates that
strategy training should be incorporated in the classrooms. Nation (2001) also points
out that VLS can be implemented in every stage of vocabulary learning since
language learners are set free to take responsibility for their own learning process and
thus, training in VLS is necessary to develop learners’ vocabulary acquisition by
equipping them with sufficient understanding towards the goals of every particular
strategy.
There seems to be a commonly accepted fact that teachers seem to have a
tendency to instruct their students the same methods they were taught (Oleson &
Hora, 2014). Mashhadia and Jamalifar (2015) have implied that in the past, the
majority of learners of a second language were traditionally instructed with strategies
which did not focus much on vocabulary learning, teachers often left vocabulary
learning to students without teaching them strategies for learning and enhancing the

knowledge of vocabulary on their own (Lai, 2005).Additionally, in my own
experience, throughout my second language (L2) learning from primary to tertiary
level in Viet Nam, the introduction of VLS had rarely been made and explicitly


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mentioned concerning how to employ them to help learners enhance the learning
process. In Viet Nam, Vietnamese EFL students are mainly familiar with Grammar
Translation Method, a traditional teaching method, in which they are required to
memorize lists of provided words of the target language along with their Vietnamese
equivalents (Phan, 2018).
This is not only a problem of Vietnamese EFL learners but it can also be found
in many other Asian countries. Mongkol (2008, as cited in Boonkongsaen, 2012)
stated in his study that Thai EFL teachers still paid little attention to strategies in
vocabulary instruction, so he strongly recommended that teachers should have
supplied VLS to EFL learners so as to help them learn more effectively. Yang and
Dai (2011) also claimed that Chinese EFL learners mainly took advantage of rote
memorization in learning new vocabulary. They found that Chinese students
primarily depended only on rote repetition in learning lexical items; besides, they
both agreed that VLS should have been introduced to the students instead of having
them stick on one certain approach of vocabulary learning.
Even though the teaching and learning of vocabulary has increasingly been
accepted as an area of interest for many decades within the field of SLA, the lack of
effective vocabulary instruction still exists nowadays causing significant flaws in
teaching process of English language in many countries including Viet Nam.
Thinking back on my learning experience, my teachers did not teach me vocabulary
learning strategies, and to be honest I could not recall any instruction about teaching
vocabulary leaning strategies in pre-service teacher training program. Hence,
personally I got motivated to investigate teachers’ perspective towards teaching

vocabulary learning strategies with particular reference to English teachers at high
schools in Can Duoc district. This research’s aim is to find out the beliefs as well as
teachers’ actual practices on strategies of vocabulary learning.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The problems of using English among Vietnamese EFL learners have always
been emphasized in all education levels (Dao, 2018; Hayeck, 2016; Powel, 2016). A


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recent report of the EF English Proficiency Index 2018 found that Vietnamese
learners’ English proficiency scores ranked near the bottom among the countries
having moderate level of English proficiency. The report implied that the ways the
Vietnamese EFL learners had been taught must have influenced their English
proficiency level. It can be inferred that one of the most crucial factors influencing
their English skills might be their lack of vocabulary knowledge and proper
vocabulary instructions. For that reason, VLS instruction is an urgent need that should
be paid more attention in Vietnamese education system to help improve learners’
English proficiency.
Looking through the educational setting at high school level in Viet Nam,
where English is considered a foreign language, VLS instruction seems to be ignored
in the classrooms. VLS are not explicitly introduced by most of Vietnamese EFL
teachers in general; therefore, students have fewer chances to enhance their
vocabulary knowledge by themselves.
In terms of studying about VLS in Vietnamese EFL contexts, a lot of
researches have been conducted on learners’ employment of VLS, but no study has
been conducted on Vietnamese EFL teachers. Recently, the majority of the
researchers in other countries have focused more on which vocabulary learning
strategies the students use in every level of education namely, primary, secondary,
high school and tertiary (e.g. Boonkongsaen & Intaraprasert, 2014; Fan, 2003;

Mayuree, 2007); hence leaving a big gap to investigate the Vietnamese EFL teachers’
beliefs and their practices of VLS in the classroom. Because of the importance of
VLS in helping students independently improve their vocabulary knowledge, this
study is aimed at investigating the Vietnamese EFL high school teachers’ beliefs and
practices in teaching VLS in classrooms so that it can help not only raise teachers’
awareness in VLS but also shed the light on the problems of their practices.
1.3 Objectives of the study
In this current research, the researcher focuses on investigating the following
goals:


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.

1) The beliefs of Vietnamese EFL high school teachers about VLS.

.

2) Their practices of teaching VLS in their classes.


.

3) The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices of VLS. 

With the rationale and objectives mentioned above, this study focusing on the
teachers' beliefs and practices on teaching VLS at high schools in Can Duoc district
is intended to search for the answers to the following questions:
1.4 Research questions
1. What are the beliefs of English high school teachers in Can Duoc district
about vocabulary learning strategies?

2. What are their practices of teaching vocabulary learning strategies in their
classes?
3. What is the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about vocabulary learning
strategies and their instructional practices of teaching vocabulary learning
strategies?
1.5 Significance of the study
The initial aim of the current research is to bring up a significant contribution
to the teaching vocabulary learning strategies process at high school level in Can
Duoc district, especially to learners and teachers who are involved in this process.
Then, the results of this study are hoped to provide some useful information for the
limited Vietnamese literature on the teachers’ beliefs and practices on vocabulary
learning strategies by investigating the relationship between them.
Firstly, to high schools in Can Duoc, this study raises some problematic issues
at high schools and suggests some implications for school administrators to get
engaged in searching for ways to develop the educational system of their schools.
Secondly, the results achieved from the research also benefit both teachers
and learners in terms of adding pedagogical implications to second language
learning and teaching context. Teachers’ proper awareness of VLS will be improved
and they will be able to make appropriate adjustments to their practices to gain the
most effectiveness of learners’ second language learning process.


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Lastly, since VLS instruction is essential in facilitating students’ learning
process, the investigation on the beliefs as well as practices of teachers will inspire
the development of effective VLS instruction. This study’s findings, therefore, will
contribute to L2 VLS learning and teaching, and provide some knowledge for
English language education in Viet Nam. Additionally, this research could also be a
reference for future studies on VLS learning and teaching in Vietnamese context.

1.6 Scope of the study
1) The focus of this study is the Vietnamese EFL high school teachers’ beliefs
and practices in only one district of Long An province in Viet Nam. The population
selected for the study might be the limitation owing to the inadequacy to represent
the Vietnamese EFL high school teachers in all over Viet Nam. Hence, the findings
are applicable to a certain group of teachers in Can Duoc district, Long An province,
Viet Nam and may not be generalized to those who are teaching in other regions. 

2) Despite the strengths of this study with the use of not only quantitative but
also qualitative methods, the researcher explores Vietnamese EFL high school
teachers’ beliefs and practices in Can Duoc employing questionnaires with no in-deep
interviews and observation in a natural setting carried out due to time constraints,
therefore resulting in limited research tools used in the investigation to gain more
insightful data. 

1.7 Thesis organization
The study is presented with five separate chapters:
Chapter 1 states the background and rationale of the study about teachers’
beliefs and practices of VLS at high schools, statement of the problem, the study’s
objectives, the three research questions, the study’s significance, scope of the study,
definitions of terms and it is concluded with the overview of the research.
Chapter 2 demonstrates the literature background that the researcher bases on
to carry out this study. This chapter deals with the theoretical concepts of language
learning strategies, vocabulary, vocabulary learning strategies, their classifications,
teachers’ beliefs and practices, their relationship, the previous studies with the similar


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objectives and the study framework.
Chapter 3 includes the details about methodology which was employed to
conduct this study. This chapter describes the research setting, the participants,

research instruments, research procedure and the methods used for analyzing the data.
Chapter 4 analyses and interprets the data obtained about the participants’
background, their self report about VLS & vocabulary teaching practices, together
with descriptive statistics and Correlation interpretation of the findings from
quantitative survey on teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices. A discussion on
the data analyzed and interpreted in previous section will put an end to this chapter.
Chapter 5 concludes the main points of the study, gives the study’s
implications and suggests recommendations for further researches on similar issue.


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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents the review of relevant literature to this study. It starts
with the definitions of Language Learning Strategies; after that, it is narrowed down
to vocabulary as well as Vocabulary Learning Strategies. The theories and concepts
related to teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices will be presented along with
some previous studies on the same issue before providing a conceptual framework of
this study from the review of literature. Finally, a summary of the chapter will be
presented to conclude chapter 2.
2.1 Definitions of Language Learning Strategies (LLS)
Language learning strategies (LLS) are said to play a significant part in
learning and teaching a second language and be one of the core elements to help
learners learn a language more successfully (Oxford, 2003) because “Academic
language learning is more effective when it is supported by learning strategies”
(Herrera & Murry, 2011). Therefore, LLS are worth being mentioned before moving
to VLS since these two terms are closely related to each other in terms of their benefits
in L2 learning. Both LLS and VLS can contribute to SLA since they promote learner
autonomy in which learners manage their self-directed learning process leading to the

possession of an active role in L2 learning without heavy dependence on teachers’
provision of input. Learners hence should be provided with the strategies necessary
for their later continuous learning after leaving their pedagogical classroom settings.
The notion of language learning strategies has long been proposed by many
scholars. More specifically, Scarcella and Oxford, (1992) explain that the steps and
techniques employed by learners while learning a language such as looking for their
conversation partners, and supporting themselves with encouragement to deal with a
difficult language task are also defined as learning strategies. In another point of
view, Richards and Platt (1992) have the same idea with Zare (2012) which states
that all the thoughts and behaviors that are used intentionally by learners during their
learning process so as to support them to comprehend, remember or study new


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information better are called learning strategies. Recently, with a broader definition,
Chamot (2005) states that the conscious and goal driven procedures which are
employed by learners to learn and use a language are called language learning
strategies. Similarly, Ortega (2013) agrees that learning strategies are procedures that
are conscious, mental, behavioral and employed in learning process by learners with
the goal to take control over their learning tasks and learning activities.
Although defined specifically or generally from different viewpoints, all the
above definitions confirm that language learning strategies aim at helping learners
learn the language more successfully (Lee, 2010). Therefore, once learners have
consciously decided on which strategies should be used to make full use of their
learning styles and tackle the tasks the most efficiently, these strategies will become
an indispensable toolkit for independent, conscious, purposeful and active self
learning and the awareness, employment of strategies will help learners to more
effectively acquire a language (Macaro, 2002).
In order for the practitioners of language and other scholars, researchers to

know more clearly about learning strategies, Oxford (1990) presents twelve key
features involved in LLS including: (1) Improve communicative competence, the
major goal of language learning; (2) Let learners be more self-directed because they
have to be responsible for the strategies they have chosen and their own development
in language learning process; (3) Widen the teachers’ roles as teachers are not only
the ones who teach the knowledge, but they also the ones who guide their students
how to acquire the knowledge by introducing the strategies and helping students
choose the strategies which are the most appropriate for learners’ learning styles; (4)
Are problem-oriented because learners engage in different learning strategies to cope
with different issues; (5) Are certain actions that learners take when learning; (6)
Include many attributes of learners, not only the cognitive aspect; (7) Help learning
process with both direct and indirect way; (8) Can not always be observable; (9) Are
often noticed and conscious because learners are aware of the strategies and
intentionally employ the strategies for their purposes of learning; (10) Can be taught,


10

which means that teachers can instruct learning strategies to language learners to
make them usefully familiar to language practitioners; (11) Are flexible therefore
learners should be encouraged to choose the appropriate strategies and flexibly make
them suitable for the lessons as well as their learning style to improve their learning
; (12) Are affected by various factors hence it should be strongly stressed that with
the same strategies, different learners will achieve different levels of success, and
different learners will employ different strategies to gain the same goals.
From the widely preceding mentioned concept of LLS, this research paper
narrows down its focus to a smaller respect which is strategies of vocabulary learning.
The next part of the research paper is going to present some information about
vocabulary before moving to strategies of learning vocabulary.
2.2.

Vocabulary in second language acquisition
2.2.1 The significance of Vocabulary Learning
All languages consist of words. Languages come out first as words in terms of

the way each of us learns our first and any subsequent languages. Nagy (1988) shows
that the enrichment of vocabulary knowledge is the foundation and the very first part
of the learning process and the poor knowledge of vocabulary is a serious barrier for
many learners of language. In the same vein, Nist and Simpson (1993) state that
learners who have limited vocabulary often struggle in language learning, not only
are they not able to understand thoroughly what they are reading but they also find
some reading texts difficult. In addition, Wilkins (1972, as cited in Clouston, 1994)
concludes that little can be expressed if there is no grammar, but if there is no
vocabulary, nothing can be expressed. It can be inferred that even when someone has
good grammar; it will be useless if they do not know vocabulary because however
well the learners can learn grammatical structures, however effectively the
pronunciation and intonation of L2 are mastered, if there is no vocabulary to convey
meanings, learners cannot communicate successfully in an L2 at all costs. In this light,
Nation (1990, as cited in Alqahtani, 2015) also claims that vocabulary inevitably
needs to be paid great attention otherwise lack of vocabulary knowledge may cause


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failure in both receptive skills namely listening and reading and productive language
skills, i.e. speaking and writing. From the same point of view, Alqahtani (2015) says
that if it were not for sufficient vocabulary, people could not communicate to express
their feelings as well as opinions both in form of spoken and written successfully.
The more vocabulary the learners master, the more they can speak, write, read and
listen as effectively as they want. In a nutshell, Cook (2016) concludes that whenever

people want to express something in a foreign language, they will feel they struggle
with the words rather than the grammar or pronunciation. For the above reasons, it is
not surprising that Macaro (2003) claims in his survey that secondary language
teachers consider vocabulary as a topic that most needs to be researched to improve
the quality of the teaching and learning in their classrooms. In conclusion, it can be
inferred that the importance of vocabulary in a foreign or second language learning
has been recognized and the considerable researches on implications for teaching are
in great demand. However, teaching learners how to learn or to know a word is not
simple because to know a word, learners need not only to know its definition, its
logical relationship with other words, but also understand how to use the word exactly
in various contexts (Stahl & Kapinus, 2001). More details about knowing a word is
presented as follows.
2.2.2 Knowing a Vocabulary Item
Learning and knowing vocabulary is a complex process including knowing the
knowledge of the written and spoken form, morphology, meaning, grammar and
collocation, connotation and association, and the knowledge of social use and other
constraints (Nation, 1990; Richard, 1976). Laufer (1998) states that knowledge of
vocabulary is not an all-or-nothing phenomenon, but begins from unknown to known
and develops fully to mastery level.
According to Henriksen (1999), the knowledge of vocabulary is a combination
of productive knowledge and receptive knowledge. Laufer et al. (2004) describes
productive and receptive knowledge as: the retrieval of the word form is considered
as receptive knowledge and retrieval of the word meaning as productive knowledge.


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Developed from this definition, the definition of Webb (2008) is wider and more
specific. Receptive vocabulary knowledge is the ability to not only recognize the form
but also define or search for the synonym of a word, whereas the ability to remember

the form and meaning of a word is called productive vocabulary knowledge. Nation
(1990) also points out the common feature of each type of knowledge. For receptive
knowledge, vocabulary is acquired by recognizing the form and retrieving the
meaning through reading and listening, while productive knowledge is defined as the
ability to retrieve and produce the proper written or spoken form of a word in the
target language through speaking and writing. For this reason, Schmitt (2000) states
that learners’ acquisition of receptive knowledge in some degrees may come prior
that of productive one.
To be more specific, Harmer (1993) proposes a definition of knowing a word
as: knowing the meaning of the word- to relate the word to a suitable object or
context; knowing its word formation- to pronounce and spell the word precisely, to
know its derivations (suffixes and prefixes); knowing its usage – to know its
collocations, idioms, metaphors, style and register (the suitable level of formality), to
be conscious of any associations and connotations the word may have; knowing its
grammar- to use it in the correct form of grammar. Therefore, students with various
first language backgrounds will experience various barriers in the process of learning
a word due to their different levels of familiarity with the word knowledge.
According to Nation (2001), knowing a word completely includes knowing its
spoken and written form, word parts, meaning, references, associations, grammatical
function, collocations and knowing constraints when using the words in specific
context.
It can be inferred from the aspects mentioned above that a word is a complex
item and the learners need more than just one exposure to acquire it. It often takes a
long time for learners to master the different aspects of lexical item knowledge. Every
exposure to a word is a chance to accumulate the related forms of word knowledge.
Therefore, the important point is that learners must learn the word knowledge


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thoroughly and carefully so that learners can have an adequate meaning presentation
of the words, which leads to a precise understanding essential for the recognition of
the words to make them productive or active vocabulary and use them appropriately
in any specific context. (Lee, 2003).
After knowing precisely what is included in knowing a vocabulary item,
teachers can be able to find the effective strategies to teach vocabulary the most
successfully. The following part is going to summarize and analyze some teaching
methods that have long been used to teach vocabulary.
2.2.3 Existing vocabulary teaching strategies
According to Stahl (2005), the knowledge of a word is both its definition and
possibility to fit into the world. Therefore, it is proved by a lot of scholars and
researchers that strategies of teaching vocabulary should always focus on the word’s
definition and its contextual function.
Back to the year of 1990, Palmberg (1990) classified that there were two core
teaching methods to enhance vocabulary learning. The first method emphasized on
the demand to get the learners familiarized with the exercises built on a native base
(Palmberg, 1990), which aimed at making words take on the same meaningfulness as
for learners and native speakers. The second one, however, emphasized the creation
of learners’ own associational links. This method depended upon learners’ language
background and their language learning experience; therefore, teachers should
include flexibility into the activities in classrooms to support the improvement of
learners' own built-in lexical system.
Following that idea, Seal (1991) divides vocabulary teaching strategies into
planned and unplanned activities in classroom. As the names convey, the unplanned
strategies are implemented in situations where words can be taught and learned
accidentally, incidentally and unsystematically in class, while the planed strategies
refer to occasion when teachers have prepared the list of target words systematically
in advance. In order for vocabulary to be taught and learnt effectively, teachers should